Page 87 - Comparing Political Communication Theories, Cases, and Challenge

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Comparing Mass Communication Systems

The units of analysis can occasionally neglect national borders, such

as in comparisons of cross-border regions (e.g., Euro regions), dif-
ferently defined spaces (e.g., Bavaria with Belgium, as they are about
the same size and have similar population numbers), or even a func-
tionalequivalent(e.g.,thenationalbroadcastingauthoritiesinother
countries with the regional broadcasting authorities of the German
federal states).

Inalltheexamplesmentionedsofar,thecentralpointofresearchhasbeen
objects that were physically separated from each other. We are talking
abouta“horizontal”formofcomparison.Itisalsousuallyacceptedthata
comparison does not have to be synchronized, that is, not referring to the
same time slot, for instance when the beginnings of television or a certain
phaseoftransformationisthesubjectinquestiontherecanbeadifference
of many years. Here horizontal elements are tied up with “vertical” ones.
It is disputed whether purely vertical comparisons are of any value, in
which, for example, various epochs of the same country are compared.
As this process requires completely different, that is, historical, methods,
it is usually excluded from the context described here (although other
views exist on this subject – see Chapter 14, this volume). The historically
oriented comparison is certainly useful. However, because it goes beyond
the subject to be dealt with here it will have to be left aside.
The comparative method is hard to apply to modern multilevel struc-
tures, as the integral parts and the entirety are increasingly interwoven.
This problem is found, for example, in the case of the European Union
(EU),whosepolitics(atleastuptothispoint)mustbeseenaboveallasan
aggregate of national politics. A comparison of European developments
with those of single countries within the EU harbors the danger of com-
paring something with itself. This is true as far as a comparison between
the media politics of Germany and the EU is concerned. A comparative
analysis of developments in member states, which is followed by a sec-
ond part of comparative evaluation, is methodically clearer in this case.
Aconsiderable part of research on Europe is indeed set up in such a way.
The dividing line between comparative analysis and area studies is
not always easy to define. Many studies do in fact present an extensive
description of large regions of the world or representative systems of
them, while the explicit comparison is either left out completely or is
only mentioned briefly (e.g., Merrill 1995). Therefore, it is important
to differentiate between two levels: It is certainly useful to present the
worldinitsdiversityunderthetitleofa“ComparisonofSystems”(e.g.,in

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